Drug trafficker's life to become a major film

When Australian backpacker Rusty Young visited Bolivia's notorious San Pedro prison 14 years ago, what he saw was not what he had expected.

It wasn't only that the children and wives of prisoners lived with the inmates in the cell blocks, it was the unusual manner of the prison's funding.

Author Rusty Young.Credit:Rani Young

Prisoners weren't allocated cells, they bought them from corrupt agents, the result being that the wealthiest inmates paid up to $15,000 for apartment-style accommodation and the poorest lived in hovels.

The inmates cooked their own food and even set up their own restaurants with menu boards, and small shops vied for business alongside cocaine labs.

Advertisement

Cover of the book Marching Powder by Rusty Young.

It was on an illegal tour of the prison that Young met Thomas McFadden, a British inmate convicted of trafficking 850 grams of cocaine and sentenced to six years' jail. McFadden was conducting illegal tours of the prison to raise money for his prison costs.

The law graduate from Mosman bunked in with McFadden for four months, represented him and secured his release. They wrote a book together and, now, McFadden's experiences are the subject of a Hollywood movie.

12 Years A Slave actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has been cast as McFadden in the adaptation of Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail.

''I'm a big fan of Chiwetel's and couldn't be happier,'' said Young from Montenegro where he is completing a novel about Colombian child soldiers.

''Chiwetel was actually my first pick to play Thomas. He'd just done Dirty Pretty Things and I think he has real depth as an actor. Thomas was born in Tanzania and Chiwetel's heritage is Nigerian, so there's some synergy there also. I think he'll bring great empathy to the role.''

The film rights to Marching Powder were bought by Brad Pitt's production company Plan B soon after the book became an international bestseller in 2004, and Don Cheadle was being considered for the lead role.

But Young seized the rights back when the development process dragged.

''When we first sold the book, I was simply so excited, thinking Brad Pitt's going to make my book into a movie.

''The reality of the film industry is that many projects take years and years to produce. And often they don't get made at all. It's an exhausting process for everyone involved, but I've got a good feeling they'll make something great.''

McFadden is off the drugs and working in an international hotel in Tanzania.

After securing McFadden's release, the men travelled from Bolivia to Colombia, where they both worked as English teachers while Young wrote Marching Powder. McFadden returned to the UK and got a job painting houses through Prisoners Abroad, an organisation that had helped him inside San Pedro.

''Thomas and I remain close friends. We go on vacation together and he named his first son Rusty.''

Young lived in Colombia for eight years until late last year to research a novel about child soldiers and the Colombian civil war.

''This new book project has been a large undertaking for me. What started out as a one-book idea quickly turned into an expansive trilogy. The complicated topic also required me to become a subject matter expert, which often forced me into dangerous situations.''

For safety he drove a bulletproof car and changed houses 11 times.

Forever restless, Young is now based in Montenegro. ''I find discovering new cultures and learning new languages really stimulates my creativity. I hate getting stuck in a boring rut. Plus I gave my house in Bogota to the [Columbian Children's Foundation] I co-founded with [aid worker] Belinda Pratten to help rehabilitate child soldiersso I'm officially a homeless writer.

"Being a writer means I can settle anywhere, but it's been a long time between books so I've always chosen to live in developing nations where everything is cheaper.''